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Some order-disorder considerations in living systems

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Abstract

Order and disorder in biological systems are considered quantitatively in terms of information and entropy. After discussing the factors contributing to the information content of a living cell, a calculation is made of this parameter. The value for a typical bacterial cell is 4.6×1010 bits. This value is compared with an experimental value of the heat of growth and entropy production ofE. Coli. A discussion of methods of improving the calculation is also presented.

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Literature

  • Bayne-Jones, S. and R. S. Rhees. 1929. “Relationship of Heat Production to Phases of Growth of Bacteria.”Jour. Bact.,17, 123–40.

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  1. Harold J. Morowitz

    Present address: Sloane Physics Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven 11, Conn

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Technical Development, National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Bethesda, Md.

    Harold J. Morowitz

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  1. Harold J. Morowitz
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Morowitz, H.J. Some order-disorder considerations in living systems. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 17, 81–86 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477985

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477985

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